28 August 2011

Great Global Treasure Hunt, €50,000 prize

This new treasure hunt is similar to the 1979 "Masquerade" fiasco, and requires the purchase or perusal of a newly-published book:

Inside its covers are 14 mind-and-imagination-stretching puzzles, ranging from the fairly easy to the super-fiendish. But these aren’t just any puzzles. Solve all 14, and you’ll find that the answers form the clues to the final puzzle – an exact location on Google Earth – thereby winning yourself a €50,000 (£43,740) cash prize...

The form that solution takes is, in fact, a series of numbers, except that their significance is not mathematical, but geographical. For between them, they express, in ultra-precise latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, a small point on the globe, measuring no more than 20 sq ft.

More at The Telegraph, which offers a "practice" treasure hunt based on the image above, the solving of which can win you a BA trip for two to the destination indicated by the image embedded above.

“Consider the torch, the empty birdcage, the Buddhist statue, the little
drawing pinned to the wall. Not to mention the configuration of the curtains
and spots on the dominoes, and other symbols and conformations.”

someone posted the answer on the telegraph website already (Statue of Liberty). So here are my observations:

1. curtains show the skyline profile of Manhattan2. dice shows X28, which is October 28, the day the statue was dedicated.3. the dominos are in the shape of the island4. the "star" symbol on the chair is the base of the statue5. the map on the wall is Central Park6. the bull on the mantle might be the bull statute near Wall Street (although it is not in the same pose)7. the vase shows a profile of a face that is probably Lady Liberty8. the gold coins could be $1 liberty coins9. Eiffel was the designer of the statue10. the Bunsen burner on the table refers to Nation Bunsen burner day, which is the same day as Eiffel Tour day.11. the coordinates appear to be a house in Colmar, France, which happens to be the birthplace of the artist that designed the statue (Bartholdi)12. other obvious symbols: torch, chains, fire,

Not sure about the scorpion or Buddha. There are large Buddha statues made of metal (ie the Great Buddha of Kamakura).Not sure either about the photo above the mantel -- might be Ellis Island, but it is not the great hall. Nor the sketch taped on the left wall.

Also reminiscent of the hunt for the "Treasure of the Silver Dragon", a Fantasy Trip RPG supplement that showed the way to a $10,000 silver dragon. It was actually found, although the later adventure, "Unicorn Gold" never was.

14.Very tenuous link here, but the vertical stacks of books reminded me of "Ghostbusters" which was set in New York. In Ghostbusters 2 the Statue of Liberty actually comes alive! Probably delving a bit too deep here.

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